Memphis Potential BIG12 Expansion Candidate?

[Chitowncy]

The big 12 helped turn TCU into a ranked basketball team... there are no worries in the world about Memphis basketball coming around if they come to the big 12.

That's a really good point. I didn't think about that. If Memphis could get into a conference like ours where they play lots of other good bball programs, it would almost assuredly improve their bball program as well. I bet their fans would come back in droves to watch the KUs, ISUs (hopefully we're at that stature), WVUs, etc. play the Tigers.

Although, in fairness, Jamie Dixon returning to TCU did more to turn TCU into a ranked team than TCU joining the conference. That said, I don't think Dixon returns to TCU if they had remained in their previous conference.

 

[FinalFourCy]

Here's the list you should be concerned about. Baylor, Notre Dame and BYU are not included as they don't report revenue.

IMO, there are about 6 teams that will battle for the final 3-4 spots. Best guesses are that they are Iowa State, Kansas State, Baylor, BYU, Oregon State and Washington State. Colorado and Georgia Tech are low revenue teams, but reside in huge TV markets that will be attractive. If, for example, a Memphis (or UConn, Houston, Cinncinnatti, USF, UCF) were added to P5 conferences, it adds those teams to the list of viable competitors for the final spots. It would be nice if we stopped bringing this up for every Tom, **** and Memphis that comes along.

http://sports.usatoday.com/ncaa/finances

That’s a reach.

 

[jkclone]

The 4 power conferences idea is dead with the death of traditional tv companies. I think we are more likely to see a movement towards 10 team conference than 16 team conferences.

 

[isu81]

There's a rule that says the Pac will be forced to expand? Please cite your references for me.

Who are they going to get?

OU & Okie Lite? No- their academics and football prestige land them in the SEC.
Texas? No- they'll get Notre Dame status in the ACC
Kansas? No- the B1G will take them along with fellow AAU school Colorado to reunite them with Nebraska.

Let's look at what's left: ISU, WVU, Tech, Baylor, TCU, KSU. You can scratch the religious schools off the list as well as the flyover states. Tech is the best choice to replace Colorado because they offer a slice of Texas pie. What then? Hawaii? UNLV? Or maybe just say 12 is good enough.

Again; show me a source that says expansion will be forced upon any conference.

There's no rule!!! It's simply my expectation of what is going to happen in 4-5 years.

 

[FinalFourCy]

The 4 power conferences idea is dead with the death of traditional tv companies. I think we are more likely to see a movement towards 10 team conference than 16 team conferences.

Right, I see the NFL now splitting along the divisions and trying to survive cord cutting as regional enterprises.

A lot of things have decent chances of happening. It’s just as likely cord-cutting and the diminishing of ESPN strengthens the need for a Power X conferences/Super Y teams. Bundling of college football into one product helps gain viewers in cord cutting doomsday, although if that happens fat will be cut from more than the Big 12.

Also, ESPN’s parent company has enough capital to reinvent and save it’s asset. It’s trying to acquire the regional Fox Sports network. Fox owns the BTN so perhaps ESPN is trying to outflank them and just own college athletics. At some point college athletics may be formally be for-profit.

 

[isu2014]

As others have said, it seems to make no financial sense right now for the conference to expand. If it does at a later point, then Memphis and Cincy would be my front-runners. That's mainly because I have a basketball bias and they have historically strong bball programs and because we'd move the conference more logically to the east. Memphis is starting to slip though in hoops. Not sure if they'll ever get back to their once-proud stature.

With a move to a P5, a good athletics department can use that as a springboard in recruting. Example: TCU.

 

[LindenCy]

If I remember correctly, every school that left from a P5 to another P5 was an AAU school. (Nebby was at the time.)

Bodes well for us...

I thought Nebraska was not and then they joined the Big 10 and then "magically" they were.

 

[WooBadger18]

I thought Nebraska was not and then they joined the Big 10 and then "magically" they were.

nah, it was the other way. They were, but soon after joining they lost their AAU membership. And IIRC a lot of Big 10 schools either voted for them to lose it, voted for the change which caused them to lose it, or at the very least didn't stand up for them

 

[CtownCyclone]

I thought Nebraska was not and then they joined the Big 10 and then "magically" they were.

No, they were, then they joined the B1G and got their AAU accreditation stripped.

 

[Gorm]

I thought Nebraska was not and then they joined the Big 10 and then "magically" they were.

Nope, as soon as they joined the Big 10, they got kicked out of AAU. In fact the Omaha World Heard had an article about this, and discovered that several Big 10 members voted in favor of kicking them out.

 

[chuckd4735]

The 4 power conferences idea is dead with the death of traditional tv companies. I think we are more likely to see a movement towards 10 team conference than 16 team conferences.

This is my issue. People refuse to believe cable is dying a slow death.

 

[weR138]

Nope, as soon as they joined the Big 10, they got kicked out of AAU. In fact the Omaha World Heard had an article about this, and discovered that several Big 10 members voted in favor of kicking them out.

iirc Wisconsin was one. But Delaney knew it was coming. The AAU thing was never a requirement to join the B1G that I remember and was just one of Delaney's bullet points for adding UNL. Even as an AAU they were still going to be the weakest B1G school academically (shocker).

 

[LindenCy]

Nope, as soon as they joined the Big 10, they got kicked out of AAU. In fact the Omaha World Heard had an article about this, and discovered that several Big 10 members voted in favor of kicking them out.

No, they were, then they joined the B1G and got their AAU accreditation stripped.

I guess I had that reversed. Pretty funny.

 

[BCClone]

Right, I see the NFL now splitting along the divisions and trying to survive cord cutting as regional enterprises.

A lot of things have decent chances of happening. It’s just as likely cord-cutting and the diminishing of ESPN strengthens the need for a Power X conferences/Super Y teams. Bundling of college football into one product helps gain viewers in cord cutting doomsday, although if that happens fat will be cut from more than the Big 12.

Also, ESPN’s parent company has enough capital to reinvent and save it’s asset. It’s trying to acquire the regional Fox Sports network. Fox owns the BTN so perhaps ESPN is trying to outflank them and just own college athletics. At some point college athletics may be formally be for-profit.

Don't think they would ever walk away from non-profit status. Giving out schollys allows you non-profit status. Easy for them to maintain.

 

[Malone]

Motion to have "(pure unsubstantiated conjecture fueling pointless conversation)" added to the thread title.

Memphis didn't get an interview the first time around; I would guess that'd be the case as long as Bowlsby is commish.

http://www.commercialappeal.com/sto...urish-american-athletic-conference/485296001/

The Big 12 isn't going to add teams or be subject to realignment until TV contracts are up, anyways. I suppose one could discuss things that could happen in some version of reality in 2024, but don't see the point. Guess I'd rather discuss things that are interesting and within the realm of possibility.

 

[FinalFourCy]

Don't think they would ever walk away from non-profit status. Giving out schollys allows you non-profit status. Easy for them to maintain.

Walk away? Perhaps it wouldn’t be their choice, or perhaps they would if it means more revenue than the alternative. If enough stratification happens that a significant enough demographic is left out, legislation may get involved.

 

[BCClone]

Walk away? Perhaps it wouldn’t be their choice, or perhaps they would if it means more revenue than the alternative. If enough stratification happens that a significant enough demographic is left out, legislation may get involved.

Only thing I can see tripping this is directly paying players to play. That would erase scholarships and erase the non profit title.

 

[FinalFourCy]

Only thing I can see tripping this is directly paying players to play. That would erase scholarships and erase the non profit title.

Exactly.

And the Bama, Ohio St, and UT’s may want to go down the road of paying players as it would eventually separate the “haves” from 64 to closer to 32. That may mean more revenue for the the top-tier. If the arms race that is college athletics ever finds away to invest their millions directly into the most important input (players) it’s game over for all but a handful.

 

[SerenityNow]

Did the OP make this thread just to pump up her dislikes and disagrees?

I was talking to my daughter about this on the way to practice tonight. I think we missed our window for expansion, and I really don't see any viable candidates left. Pretty much eveyone left will just take a slice of the pie without bringing an overall net increase in revenue...my opinion, of course.

 

[everyyard]

If/when the Big 12 expands, do you think Memphis would be a good addition? I know that they started to consider Memphis last time (and Memphis showed obvious interest), but they dropped them from the potential candidates list pretty fast. I'm not too educated on conference expansion talks, but there are several points that I thought about that would be definite advantages (in no particular order):

1) They have a proven history of basketball success.
2) Their football team seems to be on the upswing, with 9 of their 11 bowl appearances coming since the turn of the century (4 this decade)
3) Good sized football stadium (61,000, would make it 4th largest in Big 12)
4) Expanding eastward, toward West Virginia
5) Inserts Big 12 into SEC territory

Would love to get some of our new Memphis friends in on this thread as well.

Nope.